Abstract
A population of Peace Corps trainees was examined in terms of demographic variables, aptitude and achievement test scores, course grades, peer nominations, estimates of authoritarianism, and rating criteria. The data suggested the tendency (r = –.37) for the nonwhites, for older people (r = -.30), and the females (r = –.30) to be somewhat more authoritarian than younger, white, and male trainees. Trainees with good grades tended to be popular among their peers and not as authoritarian as those with mediocre grades (r = .62 and –.17, respectively). Peer nominations were stable across time, and selected biases of individual raters against specific variables could be identified. The ultimate significance of the foregoing measures awaits validation against performance criteria of the Peace Corps Volunteers in their overseas assignments.
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